S. Sudanese rivals agree on talks agenda, 10-day break: Diplomat

Sunday, March 2, 2014

ADDIS ABABA â€“ South Sudanese rivals have reached an agreement on the agenda of their peace talks and would be back in Addis Ababa in ten days, according to an African diplomat.

"The warring parties have endorsed the agenda items of their political dialogue along with how to conduct themselves through the second-phase talks," the diplomat, who asked not to be named, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

Specifics of the agenda items are yet to be announced.

"What remains is determination of the role of the seven former detainees and the other four still in detention in Juba," said the diplomat.

He added that the two negotiating team also agreed to adjourn the talks for ten days to consult with their respective leaders.

South Sudan has been shaken by violence since mid-December, when President Salva Kiir accused sacked vice-president Riek Machar of standing behind a failed coup attempt against his regime.

The conflict has already claimed more than 10,000 lives, while the UN estimates that some 3.7 million people in South Sudan are now "severely food insecure" and more than 820,000 have been displaced.

Following a month-long first round of talks in Addis Ababa, the warring rivals signed a cessation of hostilities agreement in January.